pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Incredible writing! I loved this deep reflection on what drew Arnot Reid to the mountains. This is about climbing, yes, but also about discovering and loving oneself. I didn‘t go in expecting this to knock my socks off, but it did. One of my top reads of the year!
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Volume 21! Always nice catching up with Phoebe and Marigold Heavenly Nostrils. 🦄✨ You‘re never too old for a fun middle grade read!
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
While I mostly enjoyed this, it wasn‘t what I was hoping for in such an anticipated release. I‘m just not big on fictional celebrities. Reminded me immediately of TJR, and that‘s okay, but idk. This is a case of it‘s not you, it‘s me. Just not my fave story from her. Probably least fave actually.
so-so⭐️⭐️⭐️
Definitely did not live up to the hype, but not exactly hate-inducing either. Beth is a very woe-is-me, whatever-shall-I-do character which made it hard for me to care what happened. Solid writing, however.
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A bizarre and stinging satire on modern dating. I think? This was weird, y‘all, but I loved the characters and writing.
Football practice. 🦬🏈 My 11 year old is playing tackle for the first time. A new sports era for us. Another practice for grabbing a few chapters! 🤣 Go Jr Bison!
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I took this as satire and it worked for me. Beguiling and dark; gruesome and funny. A weirdly fun, fast read!
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Reyes is adorable and funny. Comedy memoirs - personal stories paired with known comedy bits - are the perfect palate cleanser. Really enjoyed!
so-so⭐️⭐️⭐️
Less about “sex, death, and secret societies,” and more about this guy‘s personal experience. That‘s worthwhile, but slap “memoir” on the actual cover. This is not the deep dive, journalistic endeavor, sprinkled with personal account, I‘d hoped for.
so-so⭐️⭐️.5
Never has a novella taken me so long to trudge through. The premise was super up my alley, but it‘s so slow with lots of plot holes … which, fine, whatever. It‘s a style choice. I just didn‘t care about this story at all. Total disconnect.
so-so⭐️⭐️⭐️
Oof. I hated these characters. Parts of the story kept my interest, at least.
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25
President Snow‘s backstory. Particularly happy I procrastinated on this one, finally reading it after completing the newest installment, Sunrise on the Reaping.
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
An important glimpse into healthcare disparities.
Huge shoutout to my local used book shop for this beautiful 1982 Vonnegut!
A long day of club sports with both boys followed by this. I‘m tired, but really can‘t complain.
🏀⚽️💤🍷📖
#cheers
I feel like I‘ll never finish this book. (That‘s my 11 year old in the yellow jersey. For the OGs: that‘s my youngest. He was 2 when I joined this lovely community).
More severe storms, including a very ominous rotating wall cloud, and a possible tornado, has left us without power. Book light to rescue. Readers are always prepared! It‘s supposed to rain all night. Flash flooding is the issue now. This spring really sucks so far. ⚡️☔️💡📖
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Channeling Chuck Klosterman; a compliment! I love these kind of funny, pop-culture focused, personal essays. Bonus that I‘m familiar with many of his Milwaukee references from the time we lived there. The perfect palate-cleanser. A fun read!
Note: Elder Millennial = Generation Catalano. #iykyk
🎧👟 Spring in Tennessee is rough on the allergies, but so pretty! Omarosa‘s book is a fascinating, and pretty juicy, read so far.
#audiowalk
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Because of how his mother died, Cyrus becomes obsessed with the concept of dying a meaningful death. Or perhaps, with living a meaningful life. A clever and introspective study of grief. Full circle creativity, and flawless execution, lead to its much-deserved critical acclaim. Wholly unique. I loved it!
so-so⭐️⭐️⭐️ This is Ramey‘s experience as a white, cis, economically privileged female who‘s been misdiagnosed, gaslighted, and ignored for years. It‘s appalling. She inserted one-sided social commentary, but memoir has no rules. It‘s not touted as an in-depth study on how shitty the US healthcare industry is to marginalized individuals. That book would be the thickest ever written. That aside, the writing is meh, and it could‘ve been half the length.
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️ I want to preface by saying this: I‘m so damned tired of romance novels that are nearly 500 pages. Get. To. The. Freaking. Point. But, I digress. While I wasn‘t super keen on certain aspects, which are laid out in the author‘s note, I generally liked the setting and characters. It was a decent vacation read.
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️ Chelsea‘s first book, written 20 years ago, back before her “Chelsea Lately” years. As is obvs by the title, it‘s a collection of funny dating stories. I was a religious viewer of her show, and first read this in 2010. I still miss the “Round Table” discussions. I reread on audio and was VERY bummed she‘s not the narrator like she is for her other books. She has since really found her writing “voice,” but it was still a quick, fun revisit.
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really loved this, and her memoir prior. They are both more personal than her others - she‘s published 6! - yet still outwardly funny and rife with dark humor. A theme of gratitude runs through this personal essay collection, which covers Covid times, our re-emergence from solitude, becoming the woman she has always strived to be; someone she can be proud of. A must-read for Chelsea fans! This has sparked a reread of her backlist.
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Mostly loved the beautiful, smoothly flowing writing, but this story made me feel a bit icky. A relatable recurring theme was fitting people into boxes, and that was very thoughtfully handled. I‘m torn. Almost brilliant. Docking a star for the several foul bodily descriptions for shock value which kinda stole the show. Not in a good way. The writing was so freaking good, that shit was not needed.
Spring Break in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. We‘re fortunate to live just a few hours away.
Not sure about this book, y‘all 🫣
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ In a Venn diagram of hilarious southern storytellers, Corren is the intersection of David Sedaris and Leslie Jordan. In this sometimes dark, often humorous memoir, he details pivotal stories from childhood through his hot mess mother‘s death. There‘s a whole cast of siblings with funny nicknames. Thanks for the rec, @Booksnchill - You nailed the Jordan comparison which sold me on picking this up!
I love when my husband returns from Japan with a new Kokeshi for my shelves! He travels there for work, and maybe one day I‘ll get to go with him. For now, our boys‘ school and sports keep me in Tennessee. 😩🫠😂 It‘s fine. But I‘m going eventually.
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Emily Austin is an absolute must-read for me! Her books are the perfect blend of intellectual stimulation and quirky darkness; my favorite flavor of literally fiction. This is a heavy story told with an often light tone, and utterly thoughtful. I don‘t know how Austin pulled it off. It‘s hard to describe further without spoiling. This short novel says so damned much. #coverlove
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Mount Everest is a concept indicative of achievement, yearning, and enormous audacity. And such is life, and disaster. Dixon and brother Nate set out to become the first Black American males to summit. Through alternating timelines, Outen lays out the Everest story and what follows. Dixon‘s literal, and figurative, descent was much more than expected. A very thoughtful debut!
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ No one should suffer perpetuity with such an awful nickname. Her given name is mentioned once; an artistic choice I was into. Two weeks until their wedding, Piglet‘s fiancé drops a bomb. Quite the asshole. Honestly, everyone‘s kind of awful, even Piglet, but you find yourself pulling for her. You might even identify with her food-for-comfort shame spiral. Odd book. Fab cover!
so-so⭐️⭐️⭐️ This story‘s fine, but does not live up to the hype. The Author‘s Note is a content warning, but it was still far darker and more serious than anticipated. I thought it would be a small portion, but it totally drives the plot. I prefer my romances a bit lighter and funnier. I appreciated the characters more than the story. The tough subject matter was handled very well, though, especially concerning Grant‘s character. He was my favorite.
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A story largely about kindness. With all the darkness lately, this was a truly lovely story! I picked this up to satisfy two goodreads challenges in one swoop. It‘s not my typical kind of read, so here‘s a challenge serving its purpose! Mika is tasked with helping some young witches learn to wield their powers safely, but discovers surprising secrets that could change the way witches must live in the world.
so-so⭐️⭐️ I wouldn‘t necessarily call it an “attempt”so much as a plan that was, thankfully, foiled. I will say with all the Kennedy books I read last year, I don‘t recall this piece of his story which happened after the election, but prior to inauguration. This would‘ve been better without the rudimentary recap of his life before and after it, but I guess they needed word count. This wasn‘t great.
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️ A memoir of growing up, of love, and of incredible loss, by tWitch‘s widow Allison Holker. I know she‘s D-List famous in her own right, but I know her because of him. He was on “So You Think You Can Dance” back when I followed the show. This feels honest in a lot of difficult ways, but also awkward. I appreciate her justified expression of anger. I hope writing this was cathartic, brought peace, and frankly, a solid pay day.
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ On pins and needles for “part two” out later this year! This was a lot of detail, but so immersive, like I was on the periphery eaves dropping on her life. The audiobook introduces each chapter with a Cher-narrated anecdote, then passes the duties to Stephanie Block who seamlessly takes over. Early life through the 70s. She saw and experienced a ton in those years; was in the midst of so much pop culture history. Fascinating!
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Famous real-life audiobook narrator Julia Whelan spins a fictional story centered around, well, audiobook narrators. Self-acceptance/discovery/love play a big role. The little bits of homage to the industry, even when satirical, were great. I loved the inside glimpses of the process. This was just a delightful listen, cleverly showcasing Whelan‘s voice and accent range. Predictable, but a fun read!
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A story of the Haenyeo, the all-female diving collective of Jeju Island, South Korea. These badass women immerse themselves in dangerous work harvesting seafood. This is the kind of historical fiction I‘m down for as I was not previously familiar with this fascinating culture. This follows the two friends through decades of tumult. A very difficult read at times. Prepare to cry. #bookclub
pan⭐️⭐️ I‘ve heard McFadden rips off ideas, but this is the first one I actually noticed. And I didn‘t care. It wasn‘t full-on nor well-done. The Crash is no Misery. McFadden is certainly no King. But that‘s not my issue. It‘s a dumb story with very rudimentary writing. Recently published, The Boyfriend, showed a larger writing range from her which I enjoyed, but this was not good. Girl is inconsistent AF. My green kindle is cute, tho.
so-so⭐️⭐️ As the parent of two sons on the cusp of Gens Z and Alpha, none of this is news. Unfettered access to a smartphone is clearly not ideal, and the parents aware enough to seek out such a book are likely not the true target. Play-based vs phone-based in terms of upbringing needs a happy medium. This research doesn‘t really address gray areas, but incessantly reiterates a this-or-that mentality rather than a compromise.
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ As the author introduced herself to the reader, I died laughing. Read it and you‘ll get it. Definitely set me up for a fab reading experience. The subtitle says it all. A brief history of 12 lesser-known Americans. This was well-written, fascinating, and important. And often times delivered in a funny way. Highly entertaining.
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